A blog of mostly sentimental stories of my childhood & family, sprinkled with tales of my grandchildren, & my day to day life, along with my love of gardening & decorating thrown in for good measure. Come walk with me. . .

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Tennessee Heat!

When the temperatures rise & the calendar flips to July

that usually means it's time to head to a car convention.

For over 20 years we have rarely missed the summer get together

with friends from across the nation

that love old Chevy's as much as my husband does.

Last summer, Ecklers Chevy Classics announced that they were no longer going to sponsor yearly conventions, but would being doing them every other year.You could hear the moans & groans growling from the car guys who thought they couldn't survive without such an event happening. So they talked together & one fellow decided he would take it upon himself to do a local show. Without boring you with the details, plans were made, hotel rooms were reserved, State Representatives threw all their support & help Bruce's way, Ecklers declared they supported the effort & would help all they could...& it happened!

Bruce would be pleased to tell you that it was a rip roaring success!

And so, on a steamy hot summer day, Bob loaded 2 of his cars in his long, long trailer, hooked up to the Kodiak truck & off we went. (Since we were less that 4 hours away, I followed him this time in his pickup...so I could have wheels of my own when in Tennessee!)

And hot it was!

The real temperature when we arrived was hovering between 96 & 98 degrees.

We left the pickup simmering in the heat & a few minutes later while running for a bite to eat,

Bob grabbed the camera as the thermometer in his rear view mirror went shooting up!

I actually had a shot of 128 degrees but somehow deleted it!

Whew!

Makes you just want to hang around the wonderfully air conditioned hotel.

Our temporary home in Nashville.

The convention was a huge success with more people than usual--or at least it seemed so.

There were over 400 who attended the welcome barbecue on Thursday night,

with more people coming in the next couple of days.

Of course everything in the hotel had a country music motif.I forgot to snap a picture of Loretta Lynn that hung over our bed!

Cars were everywhere.Much to their dismay, there were other hotel guestsbut the Chevy Heads sort of took over the parking lot.The city even allowed them to block off a side street for parking of at least 75 car trailers.Nashville & Millennium Maxwell House were very accommodating.

I'm sure the heat waves were rising from this lot.

Bob's Chevelle

Being sort of familiar with the area, I decided to venture out. On Friday I took a friend & we headed south to the beautiful little historic town of Franklin. One of the great battles of the Civil War was fought here, & during some of my genealogy research, I found that some very distant Pemberton blood was shed on these hillsides.

Franklin...

filled with quaint shops, friendly store clerks, & beautiful homes-

some mansion size, but mostly small cottages, many of them restored to their former glory.

But the heat was stifling & I knew I would never make it on the walking tour of the historic homes, so we took the early afternoon to wander through the shops.

Here are a few street scenes...

Plants were lush & flowers were beautiful.

I did notice that they grew a little different variety than we do, no doubt because of the heat.

Crepe myrtle was in full blossom but I missed taking pictures of it.

On Saturday morning, I went back to go through a few more shops

before meeting my nieces for lunch.

The streets were packed with tourists & the shops seemed to be doing a brisk business.

I was pleasantly pleased to see that people were out vacationing & spending their money!

There didn't seem to be much of a recession in Franklin!

I am so glad that my niece, Susan, introduced me to this little town quite a few years ago.

If I could load up all of my family, I think I could move here & be content.

Of course someone would have to turn the thermostat down a notch or two!

And now you know what I do while Bob sweats it out in the parking lot at the hotel!

We are both having a touch of our own little heaven.

He doesn't mind a bit, just as long as we both meet up & enjoy an evening meal together.

1 comment:

Shelia, What a treat to be able to go on the trip with you by looking at all of the great pictures. Wow, the gardens were beautiful and now I want to go! Thanks so much for coming by Granny Mountain today and please come visit often!joycee

In Memory of my Mother

Angel in my memory garden

My back patio garden

Front porch urns

Queen Dorothy Iris--a gift from a friend!

Monarda-or Bee Balm

Dwarf Grapette Daylilies

Butterfly on Lantana

About Me

I'm of the "Baby Boomer" era...grew up in Central Missouri, lived a few years in Kansas, & have spent the last 35 years in Indiana. We have been married for 42 years, had two wonderful children & now have six precious grandchildren! My life now revolves around helping to care for my grandchidren & hoping they learn to love Jesus. We attend a conservative church where my husband is the pianist.